Same On the Outside But Not On the Inside
by Underworld's-Reject
Summary: After being resurrected, Gabriel is horrified to find that Sam Winchester doesn't have a soul. When the hunter realises his feelings and propositions him, he vanishes, only to crash into the Winchester's motel room two days later, distraught and injured. "Michael and Lucifer?They're in the cage. Which means that you must have gone down there..."


Summary: After being resurrected, Gabriel is horrified to find that Sam Winchester doesn't have a soul. When the hunter realises his feelings and propositions him, he vanishes, only to crash into the Winchester's motel room two days later, distraught and injured. "Castiel. We found Gabriel. Well, actually he found us. Dropped in actually, um, literally. And he ain't in great shape-"

**Disclaimer: Seriously guys? How many times? However much I wish it, Supernatural, nor the characters do not belong to me. It's tragic, I know but it's something we must all come to terms with. **

**Warnings: Swearing, innuendo, spoilers for S6 and some of S5, established Destiel, soulless Sammy. Mentions of sexual things, sexual proposition, angst, mentions of hell, violence, pain, blood, injury, suffering, lewd comments. I dunno what else, we'll have to see. **

**AN: So, it's another Gabe return fic. Ummm…Oneshot. This is somewhere between S6 ep7-and 11. Before Sam is resoulled. So, it's soulless Sammy. And he's being a dick. I don't know why. I don't know where this came from or how it will end, so we'll see, yeah? Gabriel doesn't know about Sam's lack of soul initially, he's been back for a v. short period of time, all the details will be included. Ummm….Probably might be quite long, sorry.**

**/**

Today was gonna be a good day, Gabriel had decided. Perhaps even better than the day before yesterday; the day when he had suddenly found himself alive and waking up in a random field. Yes, that had been a very good day too. After having been murdered by his brother and being dead for ages… It was weird to just find himself alive all over again one day. He didn't know why he was back or how, but he suspected it was God. After all, who else was powerful enough to resurrect an archangel from the dead? Today, however, was the day that he was going to reveal himself to the Winchesters and by extension, his little brother Castiel. Since he'd been back, he'd been able to gather a little bit of Intel; That the boys and Cas had stopped the apocalypse, but Sam had been plunged down to hell, that Sam was back, both the Winchesters were hunting, and that there was a civil war in heaven; Cas' army against Raphael'. So today, meant he got to see some old friends, find a way to help his brother and maybe even tell Sam how he felt. He was such a good mood that he allowed himself to hope that Sam felt the same, and that they could finally become something. Well, they'd just have to see, wouldn't they? He wouldn't know until he dropped by. With a smirk, he vanished from where he was standing; appearing a random motel room which he was pretty sure belonged to the Winchesters.

He glanced about the room, his eyes locking on Sam and a smile slipping onto his lips. The younger brother didn't appear to have noticed him yet as he was too engrossed by his laptop. he He was most likely hunting for a case, or researching Lore on some freaky thing or another. The door to the en suite was shut, so Dean was probably in there doing…something. Maybe having a shower. He didn't know, but either way he was relieved to say that he could rule out the possibility of Dean being busy in the bathroom getting screwed by Castiel. Yes, he could_ definitely_ rule that out because there were (thankfully) no sex like noises coming from the bathroom. He silently took a step further into the room, his honey coloured eyes gleaming as they gazed at Sam once more.  
"You know, I almost didn't recognize you, Sammy. I was all like, 'Whose that strapping young hunter?' but then I realised it was just one of my favourite little muttonheads!" he declared teasingly, causing the younger brother to glance up in surprise.

"Gabriel," Sam responded, his tone even and nonchalant. Perhaps a little too much, but it didn't matter. He stood up, placing his laptop on the table and glancing at the archangel thoughtfully. "Aren't you meant to be dead?"  
"Aren't you meant to be less funny?" Gabriel retorted with a smirk, believing the calm and disinterested response to be some weird, new kind of humour that Sam had acquired. At any moment, he suspected Sam would give him one of those big lovely smiles and tell him how good it was to see him, pulling him into a hug at the very least. Maybe then the conversation would move onto feelings and love and they'd be just about to kiss when Dean would burst into the room and be really surprised to see him. And start yelling at him to get away from his brother. It would be great. His expectations couldn't have been more wrong though.  
"Oh, I see… You were expecting something, or should I say _someone_ different. And a different response to your return, right?" Sam mocked his expression cold. He smirked as the archangel frowned, looking a little uncertain for a moment before quickly covering it with a grin.

"Quit clowning around. Get over here and hug me, you ass."  
"You think I'm him, right? Sam?_ Sammy_?" the younger Winchester responded with a scoff. "You're wrong, I'm afraid."  
"What are you talking about?" Gabriel demanded, a slight note of panic seeping into his tone. Was Sam possessed? No, he wasn't a demon. Drunk? Was this not really Sam? What was happening here? Hopefully, he was still joking around. He was, right? He must have been. He was not amused by this. This was not how things were supposed to be and worst of all, he didn't understand what was going on here. Sam rolled his eyes. He leant against the wall, crossing one ankle over the other. "Sorry, baby, but this isn't going to meet your expectation, whatever it is. You might as well not even be here. I mean, Dean might give you a partially pleasant reunion, but don't expect that from me," he said snidely.  
"Wha-What is _wrong_ with you?" the archangel asked softly, hurt and confusion flashing in his honey coloured eyes. Since when was Sam so cold, so mocking? And since when did he call people _baby_?  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Gabey Baby," the Winchester drawled, smirking at the distinct emotions he witnessed in the archangel's eyes. Well, that was interesting… He paused and eyed him thoughtfully, a look on his face so cold and so predatory that it actually caused Gabriel to step back a small amount, shaking his head. Something was terribly wrong here, he realised with a sense devastation. This wasn't Sam. It _couldn't_ be, right?  
"Oh, Dean!" Sam called mockingly, turning towards the en suite with a smirk. "There's an archangel in the room!"  
Immediately they heard Dean curse in surprise, followed by hurried footsteps heading towards the door. The sound of a lock turning and then the door was thrown open, a fully clothed Dean suddenly bursting out. He turned towards his bed, intending to grab his gun from his jacket even though it wouldn't be of any use. However, when he noticed Gabriel, he froze, his eyes widening in astonishment and his jaw dropping slightly.

"Holy shit," he murmured, before recovering enough to give the archangel a small smile. "Gabriel, it is good to see you alive man…Never thought we'd be seeing your face again."  
"Hey, Dean," Gabriel responded, in a surprising subdued manner. The elder Winchester frowned and turned to glare at his brother, crossing his arms.  
"Sam, how did you break the hyperactive archangel? Seriously, what did you _do_? "  
"Nothing, he doesn't even know what's going on," Sam assured his brother smoothly. Dean sighed and gave the archangel an almost sympathetic look. Great, now he'd have to explain all of that and the dude was probably gonna be crushed. See, he wasn't stupid. One of the reasons why he'd disliked the trickster and Gabriel so much was that he knew how he felt about his brother. At least, he had an inkling. He'd seen it, the way the archangel had always looked at Sammy when he thought no one noticed. He was pretty sure that the dude had been crushing on Sammy ever since some point in his trickster days, a fact which clearly hadn't changed. Well, the guy had as much right to know as anyone else. Only, no way was he going through all that with Sam in the room. No, soulless Sammy would just make unhelpful comments and continue to be a complete dick. He glanced at Sam, a little impatiently.

"There's a vending machine on this floor, just round the corner or something. Go get some crap from it while I explain this freaking mess and get Gabriel some candy or whatever too," he ordered in a tone that left no room for arguments. Sam smirked.  
"Sure," he responded simply. He gave the archangel a teasing wink, before strolling across the room and heading out, leaving Dean and Gabriel alone.  
"You alright?" the elder Winchester enquired softly. Gabriel glanced up and nodded.  
"That's not your brother, is it?"  
"No," Dean admitted, not knowing whether that fact would cause the angel more relief or aggravation. Either way, he knew that he wouldn't be happy about the revelation of what was wrong with Sam. No one ever was. He still wasn't. And he still swore blind that somehow, he was gonna fix this.  
"What's wrong with him?" Gabriel pressed, running a hand through his hair. "He isn't a demon…I'd be able to sense it."  
"We recently found out that…A part of him is missing. I mean, he's still Sam, but he's not whole. That's his body; he looks like him, and he talks like him, but he ain't him. Not really," Dean paused and shook his head, looking considerably troubled. "He's got no soul, Gabriel. It's still downstairs."

"He- he doesn't have a_ soul_?" Gabriel whispered, an agonised expression on his face as he took a small step back. He slumped down into a nearby chair, the force of the revelation being as brutal as a knife to the gut. Oh, no, _no_, this was awful. Sammy wasn't meant to be walking around all cold, and harsh with no sensitivity, emotions or a moral compass. And worse still it meant that real Sam, his very essence, was still being subjected to all manner of torture and torment by Lucifer, and probably Michael. Sam had only been in hell for a small amount of time in comparison to his soul, and that soul would be absolutely _destroyed_. He now knew why Sam was being such a bitch, but he didn't know what to do about this. Maybe if he could get the soul back, he could find someone who knew how to safely restore it, without destroying Sam? Someone had to know. _Someone_ out there had to, right?  
"I _know _it ain't easy. I mean, believe me I was as thrown by it was anybody," Dean commented, feeling compelled to speak. "Thing is though, we're looking into it. I don't care what people say, about how it could destroy him. There's gotta be a safe way to do it; it's just a matter of finding out how. And trust me, I am gonna find out _how_." Gabriel nodded and cleared his throat, his gaze focussed on the dull, dirty carpet that was a permanent fixture in this motel room.

"I'll help," he promised. "I'll try and find some things out later."  
"Thank you," the elder brother acknowledged gratefully. He stopped short of sighing and raised his eyebrows. "So, you'll be sticking around then, right?"  
"Yeah, lots to do. Talk to Cas, help Cas, talk to you guys, help you guys," the archangel responded, with very little emotion to his tone- something else which alarmed Dean. For someone usually so animated, it was disturbing to see Gabriel so…deflated. Still, he couldn't blame him. He'd been killed by his brother, been dead for God knows how long and then when he'd rocked to see them, he'd found out that Sammy was being a dick and had no soul. And he was probably like in love with him, something which they'd have to have a discussion about if-_when_- they managed to re-soul Sam. "Right…" he muttered eventually, crossing his arms and looking away, not knowing what to say in response.  
"Are _you_ alright?" Gabriel enquired, finally glancing at him. He knew Dean must have seriously been beating himself up over this, feeling responsible somehow. After all, that was how the elder Winchester worked. Always had been, and probably always would be.  
"I'm fine," Dean assured him deftly; despite the fact that they both knew it was a lie. The door opened and Sam slipped in, kicking it shut behind him. He tossed a bag of crisps at his brother, who caught it with practiced ease, shooting him an annoyed look. Sam smirked, strolled over to him and handed him a can of soda. He then tossed a packet of strawberry twizzlers and a milk chocolate Hershey's bar at the archangel, before passing him a can of soda as well. For himself, he had nothing. He'd only gone in the first place because otherwise Dean would've bitched at him.

"Thank you," the archangel said simply. Sam gave a him a smirk, ruffling his hair in the and causing Gabriel to jerk his head away as if burned, glaring at him. He laughed and rolled his eyes, chucking himself down on his bed.  
"Sam, stop it. Seriously, don't even bother," Dean growled giving him a warning glare. He sat down on his bed as well, crossing one leg beneath him and leaving the other hanging off the edge. He popped open the drink and glanced at the angel. It was time to take his mind off of this for a little, and his own. He had a lot of questions for him, anyway. "So, Gabriel…How long you been back?"  
"This will be my third day," the archangel responded, tearing open the packet of twizzlers, hooking his finger around one of the flavoured liquorice style twists and yanking it out, nibbling on it a little despondently.  
"So you've only been back since Tuesday," the younger brother summarised, rolling his eyes. Without looking at him, Gabriel nodded.  
"Not long at all then," Dean mused, raising his eyebrows. "So, you got any idea how?"  
"Honestly? No. I woke up in a field. I think it was God. I don't know why, since the git never talks to angels anymore and hasn't done so in a couple of thousands of years or something…" he grunted, rolling his eyes. The elder brother sighed. He was just about to respond when the trill of his phone cut through the air. He quickly slipped it out his pocket to see that Bobby was calling. He was about to answer it where he was, but then thought better of it. If it was something in relation to Sam or his lack of a soul, he didn't want his brother to overhear it. He stood up, chucking Sam a warning glance.  
"I'll be back in a second," he muttered before hurrying out of the room and answering the phone as he did so. Sam waited until the door had shut behind his brother before he stood up and strolled over to the table near Gabriel, perching on the edge of it opposite him.  
"Hey there," he murmured, studying the archangel in amusement.  
"What do you want?" Gabriel enquired in a mockingly polite tone once he'd swallowed a mouthful of candy. He stood up warily, slipping the candy into his pocket. He suddenly didn't want it anymore. For another thing, he really disliked the fact that Soulless Sam had a height advantage over him. When it was Sammy, he didn't care, but this wasn't the guy he knew and he made him feel kind of uncomfortable.  
"Little rude, don't you think?" the Winchester chastised mockingly. He chuckled as the archangel glared. "So, earlier, I've realised something _very _interesting..."  
"Wonderful. Enlighten me."  
"You _love_ sweet little Sammy, don'tcha? You see, at first I wasn't sure but then I kinda gathered from the way you were acting when we first spoke," Sam remarked, gleeful and smug as the archangel looked away, shaking his head in fervent denial.  
"No," he lied, not wanting this cruel, twisted mockery of Sam Winchester to know how he felt.

"It's not nice to lie, darling," the Winchester hummed, waggling at finger at the angel in disapproval. He stepped closer to him, reaching out and running his thumb across his left cheekbone teasingly. Gabriel flinched, instantly drawing away from the touch and glaring at the hunter. "Stop it," he growled, shooting him a hard look. This whole thing was causing him an unpleasant mix of emotions, he found. This guy wasn't who he wanted him to be, but he looked like him. He looked like the guy he loved, and yet he acted so different. It just…It wasn't right.

"Do you really want me to?" Sam questioned, stepping closer and leaning towards him with a teasing leer. The archangel glared at him.  
"Yes."  
"Right now, Gabriel, I could give you everything that you've ever wanted from Sammy," the Winchester murmured in his ear, his breath ghosting over the archangel's skin and causing him to stiffen slightly. Gabriel inhaled sharply, shaking his head.  
"I don't want _you_," he said, his tone soft but intense. Sam raised his eyebrows, slipping one thumb around Gabriel's belt loop and pulling him closer, whilst the other begun to toy with his shirt buttons, deftly undoing the first two. "I'm not convinced. I promise you I'll be much more fun than he could_ ever_ be. I'm offering it to you on a plate, are you really going to refuse?"  
"Damn straight I am!" the archangel snapped. He reached out and forcefully pushed him away, his honey coloured eyes flashing in anger. Almost immediately, he fastened his buttons, uncomfortable and distressed by the way this bastard was behaving. "And _stop_ touching me."

Sam laughed and advanced on him again. His hand snaked out, his fingers clasping around the archangel's hair. Ignore the threatening glare and slight hiss of pain that his action elicited, he forced Gabriel to look at him. "I could show you a real wild time, Gabe. You're telling yourself that you're bothered by what's inside, but at the end of the day…If we were to go to that bed and I were to start kissing you, it would only lead to one thing," he paused and lowered his voice to a suggestive whisper "Me inside of you, fucking you mercilessly. And you wanna know something? Your response would be the same whether I had a soul or not. You'd be writhing and screaming my name, wishing that it would never be over. We could screw for _hours_ and you'd still never have enough."  
"Not true," Gabriel responded, staring at him and shaking his head. He shuddered, suddenly snapping out of it and smacking his hand away. If this were anyone else, he would have either smited them into submission or out of existence by now, but soulless or not, this was still Sam's body and he figured the hunter would be needing it again at some point. "Don't think that you know me, don't even _dare._"  
"I'll show you, shall I?" Sam sneered, advancing on him once more; the archangel countering each step forwards he took with a step back of his own.  
"You're not him, you'll never be him," Gabriel protested vehemently. Very soon he found himself unable to back up any further, the back of his legs colliding with Sam's bed. Upon noticing the victorious gleam in the hunter's expression, he knew it was time for him to leave. He just had to get out of there now. Without a further moment's hesitation, he vanished before Sam could manage to touch him again. He had something he needed to do.

"That's a real shame," Sam murmured with a smirk. He shrugged his shoulders. Oh well, it didn't really matter. He was sure he'd be able to convince the angel to have some fun with him soon. The guy did love souled him, anyway, so it couldn't be_ too_ difficult to convince him. He'd get him; and it would be glorious. It would certainly teach the fool to have rocked over here, expecting happy greetings and loving reunion times. What a Goddamn tool. He may have been a better person with a soul, but there was no reason why he couldn't enjoy his soulless time.

The door swung open and Dean strolled back in, slipping his phone into his pocket. He pushed the door shut behind him and glanced over at his brother. Upon noticing that the archangel was gone he raised his eyebrows warily.  
"Sam…Where's Gabriel?"  
"He left, you know how it is with those angels," the younger Winchester replied breezily. He opted for lying, because he didn't need his brother getting on his back over something else. "He said he had some stuff to deal with."  
"Why don't I believe you?" Dean retorted, narrowing his eyes. "Could it maybe be because, ooh, I dunno, maybe that you don't have a soul? And _maybe_ because you just keep on lyin' through your freaking teeth?"  
"Dean…Why would I lie about Gabriel having to leave? Seriously man, what do you think went down whilst you were outside?" Sam asked, looking quite amused.  
"I don't know. Look, whatever," the elder brother conceded begrudgingly, shaking his head. . "All I know is, he hasn't been back long and I dunno if he's alright or what. So, I'm calling Cas."  
"Why?"  
"Maybe to tell him that his brother is alive, so he can hunt him down?" Dean replied scathingly with a roll of his eyes. "Freaking dumbass."  
"Alright, fine. If you think he needs to know, then call him," the younger Winchester acknowledged calmly. He picked up his laptop and sat down on his bed once more. Dean ignored him and sat down on the chair, resting his arms on his knees and glancing up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Er, Cas…It's me, obviously. Listen, I need to talk to you about something. Sam and I just met someone who's meant to be, well, dead…Only, we don't know where they are anymore, so if you could hightail your ass down here?" he said, looking around the room hopefully. Sam smirked and shook his head, returning his attention back to his laptop screen. It would be pretty funny if Castiel didn't come, but he knew he probably would. After all, he and Dean did apparently share a 'profound bond.' The angel in question suddenly appeared standing beside Dean, who blinked in surprise but quickly stood .  
"Hey, Cas," he greeted with a smile.  
"Hello Dean, Sam," Castiel acknowledged with a small nod. He glanced at the elder brother and frowned. "I do not understand what the problem is. This ghost, this person "whose meant to be dead," can you not handle them? Is it not merely a routine hunt?"  
"Um…I didn't mean a ghost, Cas. I meant as in someone who was dead and is _now_ up and living. As in, risen. Resurrected. Like Jesus. Or…Like you," Dean explained, rolling his eyes.  
"Who is this person that you are referring to?" the celestial asked, looking a little concerned.  
"Gabriel," Sam pitched in with a smirk, without looking up from his laptop. Castiel's head whipped round and he stared at the younger Winchester for a moment in disbelief. He couldn't risk taking his word, not when he had a greater tendency to lie because of his lack of a soul. He slowly turned and glanced at Dean for confirmation, the elder brother nodding.  
"It's true Cas. Gabriel came here whilst I was in the bathroom. He's been back since Tuesday, he don't really know how for sure, but he reckons it was God. Also, I guess he's been doing a little sniffing around, 'cause he knows about the situation with freaking Raphael. And he also, er, knows about Sam not having a soul now, too. I got a call from Bobby and when I came back, he'd left," Dean paused and chucked a suspicious glance at Sam. "I don't know why."  
"Gabriel has returned?" Castiel murmured, more to himself then to the hunters. This was very good news. Not only would he gain one of his favourite brothers once more, but also an ally. He just hoped that his brother was alright. "Dean, do you know where he went?"  
"No, sorry. Sam said he just left, apparently he had 'some stuff to deal with' or something," Dean responded in a tone that clearly implied that he didn't believe Sam. The younger Winchester rolled his eyes, but otherwise ignored him.

"Dean," Castiel murmured, warily taking a step closer towards the elder brother. "Did something transpire?"  
"Look, I don't know Cas. I just know that old soulless over there was being a bit of a bit to him," Dean told him softly before clearing his throat and resuming his normal vocal level. "Can you try and find Gabriel?"  
"It was my intention anyway, but the fact that you have requested it further encourages me to do so," the angel informed him with a slight smile. The elder Winchester smirked and rolled his eyes. "Just, let us know if he's alright, yeah?"  
"I will certainly keep you updated on this matter," Castiel promised, giving him a brief kiss before pulling away. "Thank you for informing me of my brother's return."  
"You really think you need to thank me for that?" Dean retorted, amused. The angel slowly shook his head before vanishing with a somewhat pensive expression.

Little did they know that Castiel would appear a couple of hours later, bringing with him the news that he couldn't find his archangel brother and that he had effectively 'vanished off the radar.' Nor were they aware of the fact that no one would see Gabriel for a little while, because he was in a location that was 'out of area' in every sense of the term. It was to be a worrying next forty eight hours for both Dean and Castiel but not Sam, since he didn't give a crap about anything.

**Two days later…**

The Winchester's were in a town about 40 miles over from the one they'd been in 48 hours ago, the pair of them sat at the table in their motel room, each on their laptop. Whilst Sam was searching for a case, Dean was looking up lore about souls and shit. Neither they nor Castiel had seen hide nor hair or Gabriel, a fact which was quite clearly bothering Castiel and was also worrying Dean a fair bit. Sam, of course, was as unaffected as ever, he didn't seem to care at all which wasn't really surprising. However, the fact that Gabriel had been off the map for two days now just didn't seem good at all. The chances were that he was still alive, as very little could kill an archangel. Still, there was a risk that Raphael had found him and captured him, which would have been quite disastrous. Having said that, they didn't know anything for sure yet. Castiel had being doing everything he could up in heaven, whilst Dean had been doing what he could on the ground; praying awkwardly, calling Bobby, looking for Gabriel, that kind of stuff. He hadn't given up, but he still had other stuff to do, just like Castiel did; so it was a matter of juggling their various respective tasks. Dean was just about to pause in his research and pray the archangel once more, but in the end he didn't need to since Gabriel decided to drop in. Literally. Out of nowhere, the archangel came crashing down into their motel room, covered in blood, cuts and bruises.

"Holy shit!" Dean cried, leaping out of his seat immediately.  
"Now _that _is how you land in style!" Sam crowed sarcastically, sparing the archangel a glance and smirking at him. "Seriously, you should be proud of that crash. People could learn a thing or two for that when they're crashing a plane of a car."  
"Shut it, Sam," the elder brother warned before warily going over to the collapsed celestial, crouching down beside him. "Uh, Gabriel?" Gabriel rolled into his back, only giving a slight groan as a response. Dean's eyes skimmed over the archangel, widening in shock. What the hell could bash an archangel up this bad and cause them to bloody crash land? A demon? No chance. Another angel? As if. An archangel? Definitely. Crap. Maybe that bastard Raphael _had_ got a hold of him after all.  
"Okay…Um, just stay conscious and don't try to get up or… anything. I'm gonna call Cas in just a second, but first things first…What the _hell_ happened to you dude?"  
"You just answered your own question," Gabriel responded softly, with a grimace. He didn't quite plan on getting up yet, no. In fact, he didn't even know if he could. He was just content to lay there for a few moments more and attempt to get a grasp on the pain, whilst waiting for the wounds to slowly heal.  
"What?" Dean asked, dumfounded. He shook his head, it didn't matter. The dude was probably delirious. He stood up, tactically ignoring his brother and his lack of concern, because there were currently bigger fish to fry. It was time to call Cas.

"Castiel," he begun pensively. "We found Gabriel. Well, actually he found us. Dropped in actually, um, literally. And he ain't in great shape-" he cut himself off as Castiel appeared by the doorway. The angel's expression darkened in concern and he immediately hurried over, Dean stepping back to give the two celestial's room.  
"Gabriel," the younger angel begun as he knelt beside his brother. "Who did this to you?"  
"Wasn't attacked, Cas," Gabriel grunted, slowly beginning to sit up with a groan. "Not in the way you're thinking, anyway. It wasn't…Raphael or anything. He doesn't even know I'm alive…"  
"Be careful, brother," Castiel admonished, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder. "What happened, Gabriel? We were trying to locate you for the better part of two days? Who, other than Raphael, could cause you such damage?"  
"Michael and Lucifer," the archangel half snapped, causing Castiel and Dean to look at him in alarm, and even inspiring Sam to glance up from his laptop in interest.  
"What?" Dean asked incredulously. Gabriel looked away, drawing in a sharp breath. Looking pained, he slowly struggled to his feet, Castiel rising with him as a precaution. The younger angel's move proved to be a good one, as it enabled him to quickly support his brother when he pitched forwards suddenly, preventing him from crashing to the floor once more.  
"Thanks Cassie," Gabriel muttered half-heartedly, grimacing. He cleared his throat, taking another deep breath to try and lessen the pain. The younger angel nodded, and hurriedly guided him to a nearby chair, forcing him to sit down in the gentlest manner as possible, not wishing to further aggravate his injuries.

"Michael and Lucifer?" Sam asked, standing up and joining the other two, but standing a little way off to the side in a deliberate attempt to distance himself from them. He raised his eyebrows at the archangel. "They're in the cage. Which means that _you_ must have gone down there."  
"I did," Gabriel murmured, slumping wearily in the seat. He tactically avoided looking at the younger Winchester, instead glancing around the room slowly. Dean ran a hand through his hair, staring at the archangel in disbelief. Holy shit, this was so not good.  
"You…You went down _into_ the cage?"  
"Brother, were you attempting to retrieve Sam's soul?" Castiel enquired softly, as he took a step closer to the elder angel. He could see no other explanation, but felt the need to ask regardless. Gabriel nodded hesitantly, a look of anguish slipping onto his face that wasn't due to his physical injuries but instead a consequence of emotional suffering.  
"So, what exactly was your plan? To retrieve my soul and keep it until someone came up with a safe way to put it back in me?" Sam asked, scoffing. "Sorry, but I think you overshot a little there."  
"Shut it, Sam!" Dean snapped, giving him a glare. He was so tempted to punch the little bastard right now, after all Gabriel had risked himself, flew down into the cage and attempted to get back his soul. He was lucky he wasn't in a worse condition, in fact, he was lucky to even be alive. "I failed though," Gabriel murmured, his voice wavering slightly whilst he occupied himself with wiping some blood off the side of his face. "I didn't manage it. They wouldn't let me. They wouldn't let me get him."  
"It was not your fault, brother. It is an essentially impossible task, even for another archangel," Castiel said, in attempts to reassure him. Aware of the archangel slowly sagging further forwards, he stepped in front of him, resting a hand on his shoulder once more and shooting him an apologetic look when he grimaced. "You are lucky to be alive, Gabriel."  
"Doesn't feel like it."  
"Look man, don't beat yourself up over this," Dean begun, stepping forwards slightly. "You tried and we appreciate that, but if it can't be done that way, then it can't be done that way. We'll just have to find…_another_ way. Right now though, you just gotta worry about getting yourself back into shape." Gabriel said nothing; he slowly turned to glance at Sam, taking in the almost dark look of amusement on his face, and the blank look in his eyes. After a moment he tore his gaze away from the soulless man, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as he desperately attempted to control the raw emotions that were threatening to claw their way out of his vessel. He couldn't bare this, seeing Sam like this and knowing that his soul was still in hell. He'd tried to get it, but he'd failed. He had thought that maybe if he could just get a hold of it, then they'd be able to come up with some way to fix all this, find someone who knew how but he hadn't succeeded. If they _couldn't_ find a way to successfully resoul Sam, then he'd go back down to the cage. Only, he wouldn't come back out again.


End file.
